What Joni Mitchell Proved at the Grammys
In performing an instant-classic awards-show set, she affirmed her timelessness—and her influence on a new generation of artists.
To call a person as legendary as Joni Mitchell underrated might seem silly—but last year, the Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner chose not to include her or any other women in a book about rock-and-roll history called The Masters. Defending his selection of only interviews with white male musicians, Wenner told The New York Times that Mitchell was simply not a “philosopher of rock ‘n’ roll.” This comment was baffling—he later apologized—yet also clarifying, revealing the biases long held by some of music’s most powerful gatekeepers.
This year’s Grammys, however, should settle all questions of canon philosopher for an ascendant generation of musicians, both in rock and roll and outside of it.
